Moth Ball Breath

[brendag]

What causes moth ball smelling breath in a 50 year old man?

[aliaat]

I don't really know what mothball smell is like, but does he have diabetes?

Check this with doctor!

A.

[oceans3]

ya know, now that you mention this, i have encountered a few people middle aged and older who have had the same smelling breath. sorry, all i have to offer.

[dr. mommy]

It has been my experience that "moth ball" breath is an indicator of tooth decay, even if there is no pain. You might want to visit your dentist.

[shebajh]

My 43 yr old husband recently began taking cholesterol and blood pressure medicine, and shortly afterwards, I noticed his breath smelled of moth balls.  He has had no other complaints or symptoms and plans to consult with the doctor about it during his next visit.  We don't know if it's related to his medication, but that was the only change he had made.

[beatybishop]

My 67 year old husband also recently began taking cholesterol and blood pressure medicine (Lipitor & Altace) and I have noticed the "moth ball" breath syndrome.  Sounds like a clue to me.

[dawnroccadaboat]

I am 30 years old, and I HAVE This moth ball breath thing. How do I know? Everytime I get close to someone they offer me a mint or gum - EVERY TIME. I have had people tell me also.  I have had people look like they were going to newly throw up when sitting across from me eating. Also, I had a man, that I used to work with, and it used to almost ball me over. So I know exactly how bad this is! If I use a very strong mouth wash - it actually makes it WORSE! So bad, that if I breath heavily, I can actually smell it MYSELF if I breath hard. Now you know that is bad, when you can smell it yourself. The good news is, I know what it is. It is gum disease. I have stage 2 Gingivities/ its a periodontal disease. All of those words are probably spelt wrong, but you are smart...and can figure out what I mean. Anyways...I would suggest going to a great dentist - and have their gums rooted, and scaled - they grade the gums. If the gums have "pockets" they call them - the smell gets trapped in them. I know its gross.

[pixijal]

sinus infections can be the culprit.

[Mingobear0712]

Gum disease is caused by tarter build up and the number one symptom of tarter build up (besides tarter of course) is bad breath. Brushing doesn't help and the only thing that helps is the dentist removing the plaque and tarter. He could have a tarter problem or gum disease. If he is on any medications, it could be a side-effect of those as well. I would speak with a doctor or dentist.

[April555]

I'm a 24 year old woman with the same issue, but I'm not on any meds and I brush my teeth twice a day. It comes and goes but its awfully concerning. I do have chronic sinus issues but only in the winter and the 'mothball breath' happens no matter the season.

[liza636]

I have had chronic mothball breath since in my 20's...I am now in my 40's and still haven't solved it.  Tried tongue scraper and getting tested for h.pylori stomach bacteria which came back negative.  It has definitely affected my self-esteem, I am always afraid if I speak I will offend people, so afraid to talk out loud unless around family.  There must be a doctor out there somewhere who can shed some light on this.

[TKBomb]

My husband suffers from this. We spent $$$ to no avail. (No cavities, gum disease, sinus infections, tonsil stones, etc.) Smell comes from his gut, so we thought it might be putrefaction. He cut out grains and sugar for a few months and smell was gone. When he resumed a regular diet of grains (bread, oats, rice, etc.), smell came back. So it has to do with gut bacteria and breakdown of simple carbs. Adding probiotics did not help. Cutting out grains and sugar did. Hope this helps.  

[nflgirl]

I'm 48 and just in that last 10 days started having moth ball breath. What changed in the last 10 days you ask, Lipitor! I started taking it 2 weeks ago and within 4 days started having moth ball breath. It is a clue!

[Jkick626]

Check ammonia levels....liver functions

[lisathinks]

I am not a diabetic, and the only medication I have been on for years is Wellbutrin (anti-anxiety/anti-depressant).  That med never caused my "mothball breath";  I only started getting it shortly after I began taking probiotics!!  I heard that probiotics are supposed to help bad breath.  Maybe I have toxins that are being released as a result of the probiotics, and so until that happens, I will have this breath?  Also, I see a dentist regularly, have good mouth/dental hygiene, and don't have sinus infections that correspond with the breath (a sinus infection, in my experience, causes a different kind of bad breath).

Anyway, has anyone else had the experience of starting on probiotics and then experiencing the mothball breath??  Thanks.

[TKBomb]

YES! I made a connection to adding probiotics and their reaction with simple carbs. Caused putrefaction in my husband's gut. Worst breath- like poop and mothballs. Can fill a room! Removing simple carbs from the diet stops feeding the gut bacteria, and the gut flora will adjust accordingly. May take several months, though. Slow digestion keeps food in the gut longer, and the good bugs begin breaking things down in the stomach instead of the intestines. To speed digestion, add acid. Betain HCl is a good way to start. Do a little research and give it a try. Again, it takes several months. In the meantime, chew a piece of gum for 1/2 hour after every meal. Swallowing saliva keeps "gut rot" down while the food has a chance to digest and move out of the stomach.

[OohCheeky]

Hi,

I have had the same problem for 5 years.  the smell is also in my faeces.  I have had a breath test its not in my mouth, its coming from my gut.  Its worse when my tummy is empty.  I wonder if you have solved this problem?  I am having stool tests at the moment to see if they show anything up.  What have you done?

[OohCheeky]

Hi,

This msg is to  anyone who has a problem with mothball chemical dentist smelling breath.  Its a very common problem ive noticed in my searches on internet and not an answer to be found.  I was on anti biotics for a year (mild dose) but didnt counteract it with yoghurt or healthy bacteria pills and I should have I found out since.  I have had the problem for 6 years and doctors are still looking for the solution.  I have discovered that I am constipated and bacteria in bowel may possibly be causing this problem, I am working on that.  Results take a while but I keep mine under control by taking Acidophilus Bifidus CApsules - 1,000000 organisms per capsule and for me I have to take 9 a day or it begins to come back.  Its expensive but I have a life without the embarrassment and with relaxed intimacy whilst it is under control.  I hope to find a permanent solution but in the meantime maybe this could help you.  Just a note, I use blackmores off the shelf product and have tried one other brand (cant remember what it is) but it had 4 million organisms in it but it didnt work for me at all.  They seemed to have same ingredients and I used the correct strength of 2nd medicine.  I hope this helps you both and others.

[fannamay]

if it's a problem in your gut, try taking a peppermint oil pill. it will burst in your belly an hour or 2 after you take it, and your breath will smell like peppermint, like you're chewing gum!

[decentbreath]

I know the stench. I am 62 and get it from time to time, and at least in my case, it always comes from the same spot. The way I pin point it is every night I floss with an unflavored floss (spearmint, etc.), so that it will have no odor. I then smell it after every pass between two teeth. I'm weird, right? Because there is no spearmint odor to interfere, if the mothball stench is coming from gums or decay, I now know right where the problem is. What seems to work in my case is to keep going over it with a clean piece of floss until the odor is pretty much gone. Use care so as not to tear up the gum. When finished, I use a Q-tip soaked in alcohol, gently working it into the gum and the base of the tooth. After anywhere from several days to a week or two, the odor seems to desist. Of course in my case it's easy, since the odor generally comes from the one same spot, although not always. I think that flossing everyday is critical. You'd be surprised at the slime that hides between your teeth.

[Sasony]

My husband is on two cholesterol pills a day and acid reflux pills. Brushes twice daily but won't go to the dentist. He eats summer sausage daily and drinks a couple  of liters of diet coke daily. His mothball breath is so bad that his tooth brush smells of it. I grabbed his toothbrush on accident the second it hit my mouth I knew I nearly vomited. He also has dry skin that cracks and peels on his hands that smells terrible wondering if there's a link?

[Wendi1971]

My husband smells like moth balls he's 47 not on any medication..it's not just his breath..it like comes off him.lsort of like body odor...he was working out the other day..and came into the small bathroom where I was cleaning..and the smell was so strong I thought I was going to vomit. I've mentioned it several times.. Each time it ends in a fight..he says I'm being mean..if I loved him I wouldn't say he stinks...FYI I said way more comforting than that. I'm a nurse..and I know some diseases cause smells..but there is nothing wrong with him.  It makes it very hard to eat with him, sit beside him..and omg kissing him is out of the question..just wondering if anyone else has noticed it..not just as mothball breath but also as body odor?

[MissyM1960]

My husband's breath has been smelling like mothballs for the last 9 months - he floss's and brushes his teeth and uses Listerine, etc., and yet his breath is awful. Recently his tooth broke, so I thought it was that, but he got it fixed and  still has the bad breath, no tooth decay, no gingivitus, nothing wrong with his teeth or gums.  I am wondering tonsiles?? He gets so mad at me for saying anything, but I can't stand to have him talk in the car as all I do is smell his "poop" breath. He never had bad breath before this, and he is a cancer survivor - NEVER has he had bad breath during Chemo or when he had cancer, but now that he's "healthy" and in remission, his breath is terrible.  He wouldn't dream of going to a doctor to find out either...I don't know what to do.  And like you, I can't even fathom the thought of kissing him anymore and that makes me feel terrible.  If you find out anything, please post.

[momflack]

Try changing mouthwash. My husband started having BAD mothball breath out of the blue. He tried stopping meds and certain foods, only to find out it was the new type of Listerine that he was using. And of course the more we told him his breath smelled, the more mouthwash he was using!!

[MissyM1960]

Just one more thing...he isn't on any medication of any kinds...so it can't be lipitor or anything else....any advice would be welcomed.

[lucy1947313]

You might try cutting out red meat and also limiting the amount of other meats as well..............................to much smaller portions and see what happens.  Too much protein might be a culprit.

[AUgal]

I don't know if this will help you all, but I struggled with mothball breath for several years. (I'm a 42 yr old female.) When I cut out gluten and dairy, it went away. I can't tell you why it got better nor what was causing it, but it did. Now when I accidentally get small amounts of casein or gluten, the smell immediately comes back. I'm just so glad it's gone (among other things like constant indigestion and itchy skin), I don't care if I ever eat these foods again.

[mmm133]

Hi everybody..
I will try to tell you all what i did to discover moth ball taste in mouth-after i want you to share your comments and maybe we will find real reasons-as doctors cant answer our questions.
2 years ago i had mild broncites and was taking pill: "Pulmo Hevert" for a month,after i stopped it and after few month   math ball taste startes. Have some of you taking such pills? it contains Naphtalene(same as moth ball )

First i was filling of mothball taste once per month, after every week, 2 years passed and now i feel it few times per day or sometimes i dont feel it at all.
I visitedat Laringologist, i visited therapist, i visited gastro-enterologyst, also lungs doctor- they dont have answers. i dont have moth ball taste in nose or when i deeply breath, it comes and goes eather from glands or stomach-cant discover it as its  difficult. I have acid reflux last 2 month but smell started 2 years ago and i treated my reflux from the begining and now finished taking pills for it. so it cant be reason.
Can it be liver?Has anyone examined Lever for math ball reason?
One IMPORTANT THING: at russian sites i found out that stomach Lambia  Giardia micro organisms can cause kind of math ball-naphtalene taste in mouth, i have examined my stools and yeah-i have Lamblias in my guts. Now i am taking "Ornidazole" for 7 days to cure my guts from Lamblia (dont take it without examination or doctors prescribtion!). during treatment smell has gone-but i am afraid when i finish -what if it comes back?? I will let you all know about it. Just know, if you will deside to examine for Lamblia in stools(fecal)-its very difficult to find them. i did examination in laboratory 4 times during 2 month and only last time  it was found. Waiting for your comments ...